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Reduce Stress and Boost Productivity with Sound Masking

February 7, 2011 By

Did you know that the average worker loses two hours of productive work each day due to distractions in the office? There are constant conversations buzzing around them – the person in the next cubical is on the phone; the water cooler talk is almost always present; and the discussion between two co-workers in the hall is louder than they realize. Even at their most productive times, they are wasting energy and time trying not to hear all the noise around them. Businesses around the country are installing office-wide sound masking systems to increase privacy and productivity among their employees.

What is sound masking?

Sound masking seeks to “mask” unnecessary sounds with the use of white noise. White noise is sound, or noise, created from all the frequencies in the audible spectrum; it is named after white light which is created from all the colors in the visible spectrum. With today’s technology, white noise is specifically focused on the specifically on the frequency range of human speech.

The first question that comes to mind is how adding noise helps people concentrate better. A great illustration is a flash light in a dark room. Imagine you are in a dark room and someone across the room is randomly blinking a flashlight at you. The flashlight is very distracting and even irritating. But what happens if you turn on the overhead lights? Now you hardly notice the flashlight; the overhead lights have covered, or masked, the smaller light of the flashlight.

Sound masking works on a similar principle. By adding general white noise, similar to the gentle “whooshing” sound of a fan or an AC unit, you hardly notice the distracting sounds around you.

Why use sound masking?

This technology is used all over the U.S. to improve privacy and productivity – at government agencies, medical facilities and standard office buildings. Sound masking has incredible advantages for any office setting, and especially in open floor plans with cubicles. Here are some of the top benefits:

  • Less distraction at work: By masking conversations and excess noise, the average worker can be up to 25% more productive with their work hours. Sound masking installed in the entire office space will benefit the entire office.
  • Improved privacy and confidentiality: Many office situations need confidentiality – human resources, government services, medical facilities, counseling, and many more. Sound masking significantly improves privacy and confidentiality throughout an entire office. It uses white noise to make human speech unintelligible to those beyond the immediate conversation.
  • Decreased stress for workers: Most of us are not aware of the stress we experience from trying to block excess noise around us. Think about trying to write an important email, or work through a complicated problem, all the while there is a noise, maybe a conversation or a horn honking, that is trying to gain your attention.  According to a study by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), even a small acoustic treatment can reduce worker stress by more than 25%.

The appropriate use of white noise in a work place, even on an individual scale, can lower stress and increase concentration by masking background conversations and noise. Quality office-wide, sound masking provides effective privacy and confidentiality, while decreasing office distractions.

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Using noise to combat noise

October 7, 2010 By

What’s the point of adding noise to an already loud office?

A common question about white noise and sound masking in general is how adding noise to a noisy place actually helps?  This is one of those paradoxical concepts that is frequently misunderstood.  Here goes…sound masking is the introduction of low-level sound so that the brain can tune out other, louder, more distracting noises, like the general atmosphere of your typical office.

How does it really work?

Think of  how all the conversations and crying babies in an airplane fade away as soon as the engines start.  You can still hear what’s going on right next to you, but you can’t actually hear all the other conversations unless you physically move.  In the same vein, adding white noise to an office allows your brain to tune out distracting noises.  Here’s the difference- unlike an airplane, the white noise itself is not horribly loud itself.  It is low-level and covers the sound spectrum so that your brain can tune out what’s going on while still being attentive to what’s directly around it (your own phone, for instance).

Using White Noise in an Office

There are two main ways to use white noise in an office:

  1. Sound Machines.  Sound machines are usually individual solutions and vary in features.  They can provide your basic white noise (a gentle hum) or a myriad of nature or soothing sounds.  Many have extra features, as well, such as portability, backlit clocks and alarm clocks, jet lag reduction sound, sleep aides, etc.
  2. Sound Masking Systems.  Masking systems are more of an office-wide solution in that speakers are mounted directly in ceiling tiles and emit the same low-level white noise.  It’s up to you how much square footage you want to treat and if you’d like a music and/or paging system to boot.  The important thing to remember is to get a high-quality, uniform, direct-field technology-based system for maximum effectiveness.

Either way you go, just by adding a little noise you decrease the effect of noise, which increases focus and productivity.

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5 Myths about White Noise

February 24, 2010 By

White Noise & Sound Masking

Many blogs, websites, and companies suggest the use of white noise to aid in covering distracting office noise.  White noise (and its super-power brother, sound masking) have many fans and these systems are being installed nation-wide, resulting in less time lost to distraction, and therefore more productivity.  There are even free white noise generators for the individual worker.  However, as is true for all things, white noise and sound making have their cynics, too. I thought it was time to dispel some of the myths about both:

The truth about white noise and sound masking

1. White noise is not actually “white” in that it does not have an infinite band-width.  Usually when people refer to “white noise” they are actually describing pink noise.

2.  You do not have to crank white noise or sound masking systems – they are used to add low-level background sound to a distracting area (see #3).

White noise is only beneficial if used properly (ie at low-levels).

For example, when I was vacuuming this morning, the loudness of the vacuum drowned out my children’s noise.  However pleasant it was not to hear them bicker was counteracted by the annoying loudness of the vacuum itself.   However, the quiet hum of my electric tea kettle was enough noise to cover my kids’ fight, but not so loud I was irritated with its own sound.

3.  Similarly, the purpose of white noise is not to overwhelmingly drown out competing noises, but to neutralize them to an unintelligible level on the Privacy Index, thus rendering them non-issues in terms of privacy, peace of mind, or productivity.  (That was a nice use of alliteration there, I must say)

4.  Sound masking it not noise cancellation. Sound-masking covers sound, it does not cancel it.

5.  Covering sound is not your only option for acoustic treatments.  You can also absorb or block sound (These 3 options are often referred to as the ABC’s).  Most sound masking companies are the first to admit that it is usually a combination of the ABC’s that yields the best results.  However, they will also quickly point out that covering techniques (sound masking) gives you the most bang for your buck out of the 3.

Hope that helps clear up any confusion on what white noise and sound masking are and how they work.

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